He said of his children: “They don’t sit with us in first class. They haven’t worked anywhere near hard enough to afford that. At that age, at that size, you’re telling me they need to sit in first class? No, they do not. We’re really strict on that.

“I turn left with Tana and they turn right and I say to the chief stewardess, ‘Make sure those little f------ don’t come anywhere near us, I want to sleep on this plane’. I worked my f------ arse off to sit that close to the pilot and you appreciate it more when you’ve grafted for it.”

5 A*s - and off to Cambridge

A student who gained a clean sweep of five A* grades in his A-levels is to fulfil a childhood dream of studying at Cambridge University.

Jack Parkinson, from Thorne, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, will read computer science after his top performance in mathematics, further mathematics, computer science, physics and the extended project qualification (EPQ).

The 18-year-old was encouraged by staff at Trinity Academy to apply for Cambridge and attended summer schools there and at Oxford.

He said: "They gave me a taste of the way of life there and the people were really down to earth, which I was surprised by."

Jack, of Moorends, was particularly taken with Cambridge University for its facilities and the city.

He said: "After the summer school, I decided I really wanted to go there and I've been focused on that ever since.

"I'm really looking forward to being around people who have similar interests to me."

Son of refugees leaves parents in tears as he gets into Oxford with A*s

Edi Rama, 18, the son of Kosovan refugees says he left his family in tears after also winning a place at Oxford.

The proud student from Newham Collegiate Sixth Form in east London will be going to Corpus Christi where he will read Maths in September.

His painter and decorator father Arsim, 48, and receptionist mother Gezime, 42, escaped the Balkan battlefields in the mid-1990s, and have said they are grateful for the opportunities this country has given their son.

They were the first people he called after discovering he had scored A* in his maths, further maths, and chemistry A Levels.

He said: "When I told them how well I had done they were both in tears. It means so much to them that their son has done well in this country. They are so grateful for everything this country has given us.

"If they had not left Kosovo and been caught up in the fighting, chances they would not have lived long enough to have children, let alone have one going to the best university in the world."

Grenfell Tower students pick up their results

Students from the school in the shadow of Grenfell Tower have spoken of their joy in bringing hope and happiness back to the community.

Those studying at Kensington Aldridge Academy had to move to portable classrooms because of safety concerns after the fire last year. Five who perished in the blaze attended the school.

Many returned to their old school building for the first time today to pick up their results.

Abdullahi Ali, 18, achieved three As in English, history and French and will be one of the first people in the school's history to go to Oxford, where he will be reading French and Russian at Christchurch College.

He told the Evening Standard: "“It felt right.

“I wanted to sit them here and come and collect my results so this place had happy memories. I think it gives people in the community hope to see us doing so well.”

Daniel Glinka, 18, achieved top results in four A levels; an A* in Polish along with As in Maths, Psyhcology and Chemistry and will be studying Maths at Exeter.

He said: “There was so much lost potential in the fire. We are realising ours for those who didn’t get that chance.”

Proud mother: Labour MP celebrates her daughter's results

Lilian Greenwood, the Labour MP for Nottingham South, posted a photograph of her daughter on Twitter, proudly holding up her results.

"It brought it all flooding back, that slightly sick feeling (waiting to get your results).

"I'm very envious (of Natasha studying in New York) and it's such a good school. It's a good excuse to go and visit."

Her 18-year-old daughter said: "I'm feeling very happy. I got the results I wanted. The grades don't mean as much to me as my marks.

"It's always going to be stressful, I wanted to do well for my parents.

"I knew I had my place at NYU so I think I found it less stressful than some other people.

"I'm really excited about moving to New York. It's the hub of theatre, it's a great opportunity and a great place to live."

Student gets 7 A*s- even though English is not her first language

An exceptionally gifted student has landed a spot at the University of Oxford after achieving an incredible seven A* grades at college - despite English not being her first language.

Hongzhou Luan achieved the top marks in biology, chemistry, maths, further maths, physics, Chinese and in an extended project qualification (EPQ) about the use of anaesthetics in neo-natal care.

Despite juggling six A-levels and the EPQ, the bright 18-year-old still managed to find time to take part in her hobbies - archery, coding and ballroom dancing.

Chinese Miss Luan, who moved to the UK from Heilongjiang Province in China to study at St Swithun's girls boarding school in Winchester, Hants.

Today the delighted teenager received seven A* results and secured a spot at the University of Oxford to study engineering science.

Remarkably, she achieved the results despite English not being her first language and hopes to become a bio-medical engineer after Oxford.

Miss Luan was awarded a scholarship by the Jardine Foundation when she applied to Trinity College earlier this year and was selected following a panel interview with seven experts.

The Jardine Foundation provides scholarships to Oxford and Cambridge Universities for students from Asia.

Miss Luan said: "The whole experience of applying for Oxford and interviewing for the Jardine Scholarship was amazing.

"To have done my best in my exams is a really satisfying end to the process and I am so proud of that.

"Over the past two years at St Swithun's I have learned some new skills and gained a lot of confidence for the future.

"I am looking forward to the next stage of my academic journey."

Ken Campbell's granddaughter gets A*AA - and into Cambridge

Another student who excelled in performing arts and hopes to make her famous grandfather proud is Dixie McDevitt.

She is the granddaughter of the late actor Ken Campbell, known for his one-man shows and appearances in several sitcoms including Fawlty Towers. Her mother, Daisy Campbell, is a director and Dixie has dreams of running her own theatre company.

She has already written and directed her own play - The Snowflake System - about leaving school, growing up and contributing to society, which will be performed in Brighton in the coming weeks.

Dixie McDevitt celebrates her top gradesCredit:
Christopher Pledger

The 18-year-old, from Brighton, got A*s in English literature and theatre studies and an A in Spanish. She is taking a gap year before studying English literature at Cambridge.

She said: "I'm feeling great, relieved. You try and prepare for the worst-case scenario.

"My mum is absolutely thrilled and I think my granddad would have been thrilled too."

Overall 99% of Brighton College students achieved A* to B grades with 81.9% being A* or A.

GB Kayaker gets top grades despite sports training

Luke Shaw, an 18-year-old GB kayacker, managed to get four good grades despite training for the world kayak marathon championships.

He sat his exams at Norwich School and gained an A* in maths, A grades in chemistry and politics and a B in further maths, and has University of Nottingham where he plans to study economics, potentially with Spanish.

Unlike his peers, he does not have a summer of larking about ahead of him.

He has just returned from a training camp in Bulgaria and will compete in the junior men's category for GB at the kayak marathon world championships in Portugal next month.

He said he had to “squeeze in” training alongside his studies.

“I’m hoping to get top 10, but hopefully better than top 10, we’ll see,” he said. “It’s interesting, a lot can happen in a marathon.”

Success for 'studytubers'

Fans of two “studytubers” anxiously awaited the videos in which they opened their results. Jade Bowler, known as “Unjaded Jade” has spent the last two years teaching her followers how best to revise, waking up at 5am every day to cram in work before school.

Her work paid off - she told The Telegraph: “Somehow, I managed to achieve 3 A*s in Maths, Biology and Chemistry A level!! “My main advice would be to remember that these grades will NEVER define you, nor your future prospects for success. Grades are just a stepping stone for that next thing - regardless of what you get, hard work, personality and resilience are equally important in getting you where you’d like to go!”

Bowler's videos accumulated over 11 million views in a year, and she has over 100,000 subscribers.

The student, who attended Newlands Girls School in Berkshire, said her proud parents were confused at first by her videos, in which she films herself studying for a rapt audience of industrious students.

Jade Bowler achieved three A*s

The YouTuber explained: "“They’re supportive but I don’t think they know how much work goes on behind the scenes. They thought the concept was pretty crazy: people watching me revise or talk about school. But they’ve come to terms with it.”

Eve Bennett, who has also been sharing her study tips on YouTube, will be attending the University of Oxford and also managed to get 3 A*s.

The YouTuber from an all girls' grammar school in Wolverhampton, said: “So the cat is out of the bag! Cannot believe after so much hard work I’m actually going to Oxford!”

She had previously filmed herself crying over her English A-level exam paper, which she thought was too difficult, saying in her vlog: "Two years of work down the drain ... I really think I have missed my grades to get into uni."

Her fears were unfounded - she achieved top grades in every A-level exam she took.

Her advice to other students is: "Your phone is your worst enemy - turn it off."